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26КЛЮЧЕВЫЕ ПРИНЦИПЫ СЕМЕЙНОГО ВОСПИТАНИЯ ДЕТЕЙ С ОСОБЫМИ ПОТРЕБНОСТЯМИ
Сяба М.А.
аспирант
Восточноукраинский Национальный университет имени Владимира Даля
KEY PRINCIPLES OF FAMILY EDUCA TION OF CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL NEEDS
Syaba M.O., postgraduate student, Volodymyr Dahl East-Ukrainian National University
АННОТАЦИЯ
В данной статье рассматриваются основные принципы воспитания детей с особыми потребностями в американских и украинских семьях. Данные принципы играют важную роль в развитии семьи в целом. Особое внимание обращено на формирование правильного отношения к детям с особыми потребностями в семье и в обществе. В статье подчеркивается, что только здоровые отношения внутри семьи, где воспитываются дети с особыми потребностями, могут помочь этим детям стать настоящими личностями со своими особыми способностями и талантами.
ABSTRACT
This article deals with key principles of upbringing of children with special needs in American and Ukrainian families. These principles play an important role in the development of family as a whole. Special attention is paid to the formation of right attitude towards children with special needs in their family and in the society. The article emphasizes that only healthy relationship inside the family where children with special needs are brought up can help these children to become real personalities with their peculiar abilities and talents.
Ключевые слова: дети с особыми потребностями, семейное воспитание, гармоничное развитие
Keywords: children with special needs, family education, harmonious development
Problem statement: Education of children with special needs in the family and disclosure of special features of this education are of a considerable interest in contemporary pedagogy. The family institution as a main place where a child with special needs forms his personality plays a significant role in his future development. It is the family that helps a child with special needs to integrate into society and perceive himself as a freeman. The family is an intermediate chain between the child and the outside world. The global trend of proliferation of humanity in the world should be implemented in every country. The attitude towards children with special needs is an indicator of the humane society. Moreover, children with special needs should receive proper education and have opportunities to earn a living and not to be dependent on their parents during the whole life.
Review of recent researches and papers: The problem of education of children with special needs takes one of the leading places in modern system of education. For decades, social and political changes in society have impacted on family relations. Attitude towards children with special needs has also changed and become more humane. In American educational system the preference of upbringing of children with special needs is given to the family. The following scientists have studied the problem concerning raising children with special needs in the family: David Ruebain, Steve Haines, Turnbull A., Turnbull R., Erwin E., Katz, S. and M. Chamiel.
Unsolved parts of the problem: Problems of family education and parent-children relationship have a strong impact on mental and emotional state of children with special needs. It is one of the most momentous problems that always face teachers and other specialists.
Purpose of the article: The main purpose of this article is to reveal key principles of family education of children with special needs and problems that such families often have.
Statement of the main text: Every year the problem of family education of children with special needs becomes more challenging. According to UNICEF data, an international organization, one of 20 children in the world under the age of 14 has special needs (mental or physical disabilities). Total number of children with special needs is 93 million children [10, p.7].
Contemporary American educational philosophy focuses on a child. Parents are the first and main teachers of children with special needs. Many teachers emphasize that learning process that takes place at home has a significant impact on the whole learning process of such children. Many American secondary schools have begun to attract children with special needs in learning process and established a strong cooperation with such families. The education of children with special needs is very important and takes into account interests, priorities and experience of families. Parents of children with special needs should work with teachers and other specialists in the development and implementation of curricula and adaptation of such curricula to children with special needs and educational environment [3, p.184].
The family is a fundamental unit that defines and supports the society. Family is a group of individuals that meets needs of the society and every family member. To maintain a healthy partnership is one of the main tasks of schools and other educational institutions. If a strong partnership is not established with families, the whole learning process will not be successful.
Parents need to cooperate with teachers and various organizations in order to promote harmonious development of children with special needs. Due to such
collaboration, they can achieve great goals and help their children perceive themselves as independent members of the society who are able to take care of themselves and live a full-fledged life. In addition, parents are always the best example for their children and if children see that their parents are interested in them, they will be successful and happy people.
It is parents' goal to help their children develop the ability to communicate with others. They should not separate their children from the peers, but they would rather show that their children are peculiar with unique abilities and talents.
Children with special needs should communicate more with their peers and be involved in different activities. Moreover, parents who allow their children to make decisions on their own help them to become real personalities with the ability to think and be responsible. Parents' words and actions have a significant impact on a child with special needs. The child must see the best example and be proud of their parents. Parents should also be able to say no to a child if his/her demands are excessive. It is very essential for parents to listen to advice of teachers and other professionals. A child with special needs must learn how to be independent at home and among others. Parents should prepare a child with disabilities to independent adulthood. After all, when a child grows up, he will have to live on his own. If parents enjoy their life with children who have special needs, their children will be happier and feel that they are not burdens for their parents but that they are precious.
Parents who have children with special needs should prepare for the fact that upbringing of such children in the family requires a lot of spiritual and physical strength. Parents should always maintain physical health, emotional balance and optimism.
Parents of children with special needs must not compare their children with other healthy children. They have to adequately assess a real level of development of their children and focus on children's achievements, but not on standard norms. Unexpected behavior of a child with special needs is better than complete alienation because in this way a child is trying to interact with the world. In addition, it is better when problems are found on the surface because in this case it is easier to change something and find a proper method how to do it.
Parents who have children with special needs should rebuild their ordinary lifestyle. Moreover, parents should devote much time to their children with special needs by interacting with them, helping them to adapt to this complex world and using any opportunity to educate them.
When a child is born into this world, it is always a great excitement for the whole family. While this child stays in his mother's womb for nine months, the whole family is looking forward to seeing him. Parents have many plans for the future and choose a proper name for a newborn baby. But when a child is born with special needs, it is a real tragedy for the majority of families. Only a few parents can overcome stress and troubles. Some of them are not ready to bring up a child with
special needs and often leave such a child in the hospital. However, some of them decide to bring up such children in the family. The choice to devote the whole life to such children is a very serious step for parents. Heavy burden that falls on parents' shoulders often leads to panic, feelings of hopelessness and guilt. Children with special needs change a psychological climate in the family and disrupt a normal cycle of family life. All family members are in a state of emotional stress and discomfort because a child with special needs requires a large amount of attention, warmth and care.
Parents of these children face not only problems of education and child care, but also health, economic, social and psychological difficulties that often lead to deterioration of quality of life and emergence of family problems [2, p.174].
Family is the most influential factor in socialization of a child with special needs and its influence surpasses the influence of all other public institutions. The role of family is very essential for a child with special needs because the family is responsible for care, education and proper development of this category of children. However, the family experiences many problems and crises when psychological and emotional stress of parents increases greatly. Family members need financial, physical and psychological support in order to successfully cope with these problems. Such support is very useful for the family that raises a child with special needs.
Families who have children with special needs feel constant psychological oppression. Therefore, some parents leave such children and shift the responsibility to others. This problem is common in many countries and greatly affects the development of children with special needs.
Opportunities for children with special needs are considerably limited in such areas as education, employment, participation in social, cultural and political life. The birth of a child with special needs is associated with strong emotional stress and parents' attitude towards this baby significantly changes. When parents find out that their child has special needs, they experience mixed feelings from reluctance to accept diagnosis to total despair.
The family is considered as a primary form of socialization of children with special needs because the ability of children to live in the society is formed in the family. Compared to other social groups, the family takes a very special position. All other social groups can be considered as "invented" because the scope of their existence is a social life but the scope of family existence is a personal life.
Therefore, it is important that parents will not be left alone with their problems. They need psychological and educational assistance that can be provided by specialists. Parents who do not want to receive assistance cannot simply cope with difficulties in education and childcare. There are some parents who send their children to rehabilitation centers but it is even more traumatic for psychological state of children with special needs [1, p.188].
The system of psychological and pedagogical support of families who have children with special needs is well developed in the USA. American specialists are trained to respond quickly to the needs of families who bring up children with special needs.
The main trend of American education of children with special needs is the intensification of cooperation of school with the family. A notable feature of many social workers and teachers is the USA is a desire to establish strong relationships of schools and families. The term "parent-school education" or "partnership between parents and teachers" is widely used in American pedagogy.
Lillian Katz, a contemporary American scholar, highlights 7 key differences between a mother and a teacher in the perception of a child. For example, she states, "Parents certainly love their child as an individual, but teachers have an opportunity to hear the child and see his individual features." That is why parents and teachers see a child with special needs from different sides. It is necessary to unite efforts of parents and teachers in order to see a child as a whole [5, p.190].
As for family education in the USA, it is well developed. Social and educational workers hold special courses for parents and the whole family. Parents' associations that deal with disadvantaged families are organized at all levels (school, neighborhood, university). There are various activities that are provided by parent-teachers' associations such as lectures for parents, group and individual interviews, meetings with parents and visiting children at home in the USA [4, p.32].
A child can learn how to live with his disabilities, but he can never be happy if he does not feel that his parents value him. If parents love their child despite his disability, then this child will begin to love himself and others. Therefore, this child can happily live day to day without fear, but with hope for better future.
When a child with special needs feels that he is loved and respected by his family, he has correct understanding of relationships inside his family and among people who surround him. Every child deserves to be loved. When a child with special needs feels that he is loved, it contributes to better understanding of the whole process of education that is aimed at harmonious development of child's personality regardless of his abilities or limitations.
Family education of children with special needs is complex and delicate work that requires parents' interest in positive results, patience, tact, knowledge of children's psychology and pedagogy. Specification of family education is determined by its type, living conditions and parents' readiness to fulfil educational functions of the family [7, p. 10].
Children with special needs receive the most important lessons in the family. Lessons received at home influence the whole life of a child and help him to develop his abilities and talents. Such family education teaches them how to behave in different situations. It is very important that parents teach their children with their own example because children must see that parents' words tally with their deeds.
Due to parents' positive example, a child with special needs can better follow rules of moral conduct and
gradually he acquires moral qualities such as kindness, honesty, discipline and diligence that are important in the life of every person. We want to emphasize that the family plays an important role in the socialization of a child with special needs because parents help children with special needs to develop skills of self-service, form positive attitude and be socially useful.
During communication and various types of joint activities, parents extend children's outlook and develop their curiosity for knowledge. Parents should spend more time with children who have special needs in order to achieve educational goals. Thus, the family that raises a child with special needs should focus on child's potential. Such family education should prevent social exclusion of a child with special needs and help him to integrate into society. It is very essential for children with special needs to get proper family education. Parents should talk to their children and constantly show that they are interested in their problems and worries.
Parents must earn confidence in the eyes of their children because family education will be useless without it. Parents' authority is shown in their life, work, behavior and a sense of responsibility for their family. The most authoritative parents are those who successfully combine career and social activities with family responsibilities, show interest and attention to their children's lives and tactically manage their lives. This all equally applies to both parents.
Family is a special environment that encourages the development of a child with special needs. Every family should have their own values that should be kept by every family member.
Parents should develop an adequate self-esteem needed for the establishment of right relationships with others and for the development of a harmonious personality of a child with special needs. It is the fact that a close contact of a child with his mother is the foundation of child's self-reliance, self-confidence, independence and trustful relationship to other people [6, p.55].
A child with special needs as well as any other child actively interacts with the world and with other people. The focus of teachers and parents should to be made on the development of child's personality because this child should become an independent and active member of the society in future.
All family members should be involved in the process of upbringing and education of children with special needs because every family member can influence greatly the development of such children. All family members should be aware of the nature of developmental disorders that a child has and they should learn how to help this child to correct them or accept them [9, p.16].
In addition to family education, such children need professional assistance of experts. The degree of specialists' participation in the process of education is determined by the severity of child's development defects.
One of the most important principles of effective education of children with special needs is a formation of child's self-help skills. A child with special needs must be accustomed to neatness and accuracy. It is im-
portant that he can take care of himself and take an active part in the household work. The only way to ensure a harmonious development of a child with special needs is to teach him to feel a self-sufficient person and not to feel discomfort because of his physical or mental disability.
When parents fulfill all desires of their children and do not pay attention to negative consequences of their children's actions, egoism and capriciousness are formed in early childhood. Moreover, parents must always explain children their mistakes and wrong action in order to disciple their children.
Recently it has been considered socially acceptable to educate children with special needs in special schools that are often located outside the city. Gradually a social policy concerning education of children with special needs has undergone dramatic changes. Now much attention is paid to upbringing of a child with special needs in the family, but not in institutions that are completely separated from the family. Nowadays parents are encouraged to educate such children in families where they can feel love and care in full [8, p.70].
The traditional idea concerning education of children with special needs has changed considerably over the last years. Earlier children with special needs could win only compassion and they were seen as people who required constant care, but now they are considered to be equal and independent people who need only support.
The main problem that is crucial for raising a child with special needs is parents' attitude towards child's defects. Parents' knowledge, culture, personal characteristics and other factors influence greatly parents' reaction and perception of a child with special needs. Parents often feel shock that leads them to stress and causes deep distress, feelings of confusion and helplessness. Therefore, such negative feelings often cause a family breakdown.
Personal characteristics of parents determine their relation to defects of a child with special needs. Some parents are seriously concerned about child's disabilities, but other parents do not pay attention to such disabilities and try to live a normal life. Proper family education is always based on acceptance of a child despite his disabilities or abilities and express interest in child's problems and concerns.
Conclusions and recommendations:
Therefore, it is very important for parents who have children with special needs to accept the situation and concentrate on positive aspects. Parents also should pay more attention to their child and love them despite
their abilities or disabilities. Children are very sensitive to parents' feelings and words. That is why parents should be careful what to say and how to behave. It is very momentous for parents to be sincere in everything they do because children absorb everything (good or bad) like a sponge. Everything that parents input in their children with special needs will influence children's future life and development.
Upbringing of a child with special needs is daily hard work that involves all family members. Parents should learn how to understand their children with special needs and do their best to have a good impact on them. Understanding, acceptance and love are key principles of family education of children with special needs.
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